| Steptoe & Johnson LLP | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
| No. of offices | 9 |
| No. of attorneys | 500 |
| Major practice areas | General practice |
| Key people | Roger Warin, Phil Malet |
| Date founded | Washington, D.C. (1945); Phoenix (1987); Los Angeles (1997); London (2001); Brussels (2002); New York (2005); Century City (2006); Chicago (2007); Beijing (2010) |
| Founder | Philip Steptoe, Col. Louis A. Johnson |
| Company type | Limited liability partnership (LLP) |
| Website | |
| www.steptoe.com | |
Steptoe & Johnson LLP is an international law firm recognized for representation of clients before governmental agencies, advocacy in complex litigation and arbitration, and advice in guiding business transactions. The firm has 500 lawyers in offices in Beijing, Brussels, Century City, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, New York, Phoenix, and Washington, D.C..
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Philip Steptoe and Col. Louis A. Johnson, classmates from the University of Virginia School of Law, formed Steptoe & Johnson in 1913 in Clarksburg, WV. In 1928, Steptoe & Johnson opened an office in Charleston, WV, to meet the expanding legislative and regulatory work available in the state capital. Meanwhile, Col. Johnson helped found the American Legion, bringing national prominence to himself and the firm when he served as the organization’s commander in the mid-1930s. President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Col. Johnson deputy secretary of war in 1937.
After leaving the Roosevelt administration, Col. Johnson opened the Washington office of Steptoe & Johnson in 1945. Shortly thereafter, Col. Johnson was again tapped for public service, this time by President Harry S. Truman, for whom he served as secretary of defense until 1950.
The firm’s Washington office grew quickly under Col. Johnson’s influence. Among its first clients were the members of the growing airlines industry, as well as pipelines, railroads, and foreign companies whose assets had been seized during World War II. In assisting these clients and building on a string of successful representations, Steptoe gained a solid national and international reputation as a prominent firm in regulatory law, tax, and international trade.
In 1980, the firm began a period of dynamic growth, starting with the amicable separation of the Washington and West Virginia offices. The West Virginia firm known as Steptoe & Johnson PLLC is still based in Clarksburg, WV.
In 1987, a combination of client needs and business opportunities led to the opening of a Steptoe office in Phoenix. Phoenix was just the beginning. From 1997 on, the firm began rapidly expanding geographically. During this time, Steptoe opened offices in Los Angeles (1997); London (2001); Brussels (2002); New York (2005); Century City, CA (2006); Chicago (2007); and Beijing (2010).
The firm’s attorneys have continued Col. Johnson’s legacy of government service, with dozens of Steptoe attorneys having served in high-level government positions. The firm also has a strong and long-standing commitment to pro bono service and community involvement in all of the cities in which it has offices.
Steptoe and its attorneys routinely receive top rankings in many practice areas by organizations including Chambers[1], the Legal 500[2], the American Lawyer[3], and the Who’s Who Legal[4], to name just a few publications.
Steptoe’s main areas of practice include Litigation, Business Solutions, Regulatory and Industry Affairs, International, and Technology. According to Chambers and Partners, Steptoe offers leading practices in the following areas: international trade, telecommunications and internet/e-commerce, intellectual property, energy and natural resources, transportation, major litigation (including insurance coverage, toxic tort, employment, and general commercial litigation), antitrust/competition, corporate transactions, tax planning and litigation, pension benefits, and white-collar criminal investigations.
Steptoe is engaged in a significant pro bono project, known as Action for Children of Trafficking (ACT) to provide direct assistance to victims of international child trafficking and address the systemic obstacles that confront them.
The firm’s attorneys also contribute significantly to pro bono matters in the following areas:
Steptoe’s public service activities — whether performed by the firm or by individual attorneys — have been honored by the District of Columbia Bar, the National Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the Washington Lawyers’ Committee[5] for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, the Children’s Law Center, the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, the Arizona Foundation for Legal Services and Education, the Washington Council of Lawyers, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, the Volunteer Lawyers’ Project, the Public International Law & Policy Group, the Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts, the Service members’ Legal Defense Fund, and the Solicitor’s Pro Bono Group in London.